BBC America presents the four part
series INSIDE MEN. This limited run show tells the story of a robbery,
with a concentration on the motivations and actions of three men who
work on the inside.
For those who enjoy The Killing, Luther,
or other intelligent crime dramas, but worry about the ending being
drawn out or left unsolved, fear not. INSIDE MEN is only designed as a
four part run, and no more will be made. The length of roughly two
feature films, this design allows for a deeper exploration of characters
than most movies, but is still short enough to satisfy the very
impatient.
As the story begins in September, John
(Steven Mackintosh, Luther) is held at gunpoint in the secure money
depot he is manager of by a bunch of masked men. John leads the robbers
to the loot, with security guard Chris (Ashley Walters, Outcasts)
getting shot along the way. It seems like the villains get want they
want, and poor John and Chris are left behind with the rest of the
staff, most locked in the vault.
But that's not the entire story. As the
first episode progresses, viewers flash back to January. Chris falls for
a young woman named Dita (Leila Mimmack, Married Single Other) who
swipes a bill from the facility, costing her the job. Chris and Dita
begin running a con on another company, but Dita can only manage to keep
the job for a little while, not long enough to solve their money
problems or ambition.
Meanwhile, a money mover for the company
named Marcus (Warren Brown, Luther) owes some people some dough. He
helps Chris fence a few articles of clothing, and when that runs dry,
comes up with a plan to fleece cash from their employer. It sounds like
an achievable feat to Chris, and the two begin their plot.
Also running through the episode are
scenes of John after the attack, presumably being moved with his wife
(Nicola Walker, MI-5) and daughter to safety. John seems haunted by the
events of the crime, and would not like to stick around town, especially
considering that the bad guys know where he lives, having held his
family hostage as the thievery went down.
I will not spoil the twist ending of the
first hour, for those viewers who have not seen it yet. Suffice it to
say, John, Chris, and Marcus are connected in many ways, and will soon
be learning not only what the others are capable of, but how far they
themselves are willing to go. Will the perpetrators be brought to
justice? Or will they get away? Is that even important, in the end?
INSIDE MEN is a character study piece, with relatable, realistic people
in a situation that many have thought about, but few have dared to act
on.
INSIDE MEN is intense and gripping. The
acting, much of the cast veterans of the gritty British drama scene, are
amazing, really selling the parts, but avoiding overacting. The story
is interestingly plotted, and though it jumps around in time a bit, is
relatively simply to follow. The pacing is good, too, unspooling the
mystery slowly enough to dwell on pieces of it, rather than rushing it
along, but fast enough to build excitement and tension. In short, INSIDE
MEN will probably be another great entry into the genre.
It's a shame that INSIDE MEN only made
four episodes, and does not intend to make more. After only a single
hour, there is definitely enough draw to really hook viewers and make
them fans. It's already clear that four installments will not be enough.
And yet, it must be respected that the writer wants to tell a complete
story. Maybe another cast could be put together for another series, in a
kind of anthology?
INSIDE MEN airs Wednesdays at 10 PM ET on BBC America.
I watched this when it was originally on in the UK and thought it was a really good series. I love the way it tells the story of all that were involved and how they got to the points they did on the night of the robbery. I would recommend it to all.
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